Reviews: Godhunter/Anakim Split 7"

By: Garviel Loken

Two of Tucson's heaviest hitting bands have come together to produce a limited edition 7" vinyl that features one new track from each artist. Featuring some insanely tasteful artwork, the cover for each artist is probably worth the purchase price alone, and we haven't even gotten down to brass tacks about the actual music yet. This excellent art definitely reinforces the age old idea that whats on the cover can enhance the listening experience and provide a basis for kick starting the imagination.

Reviews: AM.ARE.IS "Amorous"

By: Garviel Loken

On their debut album, Tucson's Am.Are.Is bring listeners a different experience that doesn't conform to a set musical formula. The twelve tracks of "amorous" are a virtual musical melting pot that churn together elements of punk, alternative, and a healthy dose of melody. The end result is a solid, unique album that emphatically places this band on the Arizona music scene map.

Reviews: T.O.A.D. "Endless Night"

By: Salvia Hex

Milos is a semi-retired porn star and lives with his wife Marija and six-year-old son, Petar... 

"Now just hold up there one minute, how can you be semi-retired at anything? You either do it or you don't, right? Even if it's porn. What, is he only fucking people 20 hours a week or some shit?" asks Alex as he pulls Entombed's "Uprising" from it's resting place on the shelf amongst other records. He deftly slides the record out of it's sleeve, dropping it onto the turntable with a practiced touch.

Reviews: Evasion "From Reality"

By: Garviel Loken

Tucson's Evasion makes a compelling case for the continuation of melodic death metal with their debut recording "From Reality". With very competent musicianship and enough good riffs to pass muster, these guys sit on an even level with any other Arizona band who performs within that subgenre of the metal pantheon. Whether you are into this style of heavy music or not, Evasion is good enough to get a few head nods from even the most stalwart death metal elitist, and credit should be given where it is due.

Reviews: Twingiant "Sin Nombre"

By: Garviel Loken

Following closely on the heals of their recently released debut album "Mass Driver", the new extended play from Twingiant is pretty much business as usual for this Phoenix area band. All five tracks on "Sin Nombre" drink from the bluesy waters of some backwoods bayou and personify the Clutch/Melvins school of rock and roll. The rusty, iron encrusted vocals still roar much like on the debut record, the thick atmosphere of groove is still prevalent, but there seems to be something missing all the same.

Reviews: Swamp Wolf "The Brilliance Of A Feral Mind"

By: Garviel Loken

Hailing from Flagstaff, Swamp Wolf delivers one hell of a potent composition on "The Brilliance of a Feral Mind". Three parts venom and one part bile, these guys are adept practitioners in the art of genre bending. Call it blackened thrash and hardcore or any other clever conjunction of titles, the only thing that matters is whether the material is good or not. In the matter of Swamp Wolf, the material is not only good, it is great.

Reviews: Unfortunate Sircumstances "2012 EP"

By: Garviel Loken

Gritty and completely unpolished, this three song introduction to Unfortunate Sircumstances unleashes a deluge of crusty hardcore punk in under four minutes. The brevity of the material certainly fits the style that the band plays, but leaves the listener wanting more of it. However, there is fortunately just enough substance on this EP to give a satisfying taste of what Unfortunate Sircumstances has to offer for future efforts.

Reviews: Black Orchid "Where This Life Is Leading"

By: Garviel Loken

Hailing from way up north in Flagstaff, Black Orchid plays a mixed bag style of metal that many listeners may identify with. On their album "Where This Life Is Leading", the band certainly lets you know what the deal is as there are quite a few stylistic influences that are immediately apparent as they happen each time over the course of the nine songs. Intentional or not, these sounds are pretty glaring and obvious.

Reviews: Blister Unit "Christ Ape"

By: Garviel Loken

Do you like chaos? Well, you'll be going to the right place when you press play on "Christ Ape", the new full length album from Blister Unit. Across thirteen tracks and thirty six minutes, Blister Unit earns their band name with flying colors. The music is utterly relentless and dense like the imploding plutonium core of a thermonuclear weapon at the moment of detonation.

Reviews: 500 Cunts/Stab/Bloody Corpse Dismemberment/Blister Unit "Four Way Split"

By: Garviel Loken

Four bands and a total of forty-five tracks may seem ridiculous at first glance, but like the intensity one might experience during a micro burst, the experience is over all too abruptly. The guilty parties named in this indictment (500 Cunts, Bloody Corpse Dismemberment, Stab, and Blister Unit) have committed numerous and glorious audio atrocities across the breadth of the recording and must now be called to account for them. Some are steeped in the chaos of grindcore, while others wear the crusty outer garments of punk and death metal.

Reviews: American Standards "Still Life"

By: Garviel Loken

Clocking in at less than twenty minutes, the seven tracks of "Still Life" by American Standards are a breath of fresh air for those in the hardcore scene who are suffocating from boredom and apathy. Unlike many bands in this genre that re-hash the same old ideas or rely on technique alone to stay relevant, American Standards has cleverly sidestepped these pitfalls. Bridging the gap between late 90s hardcore and the modern era of metal, "Still Life" rings true on all fronts.

Reviews: Territory "Sic Semper Tyrannis"

By: Garviel Loken

This crusty hardcore group from Tucson brings the straight goods to your ears in the true spirit of that genre: No frills or fancy gimmicks, but a knockout right hook to the face. Featuring thought provoking front cover artwork and nine tracks of angry, barking attitude, Territory's "Sic Semper Tyrannis" record sits comfortably alongside the best purveyors of modern crust and hardcore.

Reviews: Cave Dweller "Terra Incognita"

By: Garviel Loken

On their first musical offering to the world at large, Cave Dweller have thrown down a mighty challenge to the Arizona heavy music scene. Clocking in at just under thirty minutes, the six tracks of "Terra Incognita" erupt with a venomous intensity that could burn the world to cinders if it was somehow able to escape the confines of compact disc imprisonment. Everyone take note, this band clearly means business and now has the proof to back it up.

Reviews: Twingiant "Mass Driver"

By: Garviel Loken

Dense, warm, and full of sheer power, the debut full length by this Phoenix outfit is a real gem of sludge metal, but so much more as well. With a healthy swagger and a plethora of musical ideas, "Mass Driver" saunters out of the speakers as if it were ripping a hole through space and time from some alternate dimension. The sounds command you to pay attention and to join the trip down the proverbial rabbit hole. Having seen these guys use the term "space hobo" in relation to their music, this listener must agree that those words are an apt fit for the band. It conjures up the image of galactic hitchhikers that jump from ship to ship, maybe looking for home or just a new place to crash. What can be better than that?

Reviews: Flying Donkey Punch "Lumps To The Head"

By: Garviel Loken

Eschewing fancy arrangements and all the frills, Flying Donkey Punch comes at you with both crusty fists clenched and ready to swing. Grind, punk, and a little bit of death-tinged thrash metal make up the potent mixture that is "Lumps To The Head", a twelve track audio brickbat that honors the days of real punk rock, when it was dangerous, dirty, and completely raw. Those with faint hearts or think that hardcore started out 10 years ago, please go away.

Reviews: Ladybird "Demo EP"

By: Garviel Loken

Sporting more fuzz than a yeti in the mountains, Ladybird's demo offering is a hefty slab of lo-fi doom that worships at the temple of drone. Consisting of three tracks, the demo delivers over twenty-six minutes of ponderous riffs that surf the audio void while buzzing like a thousand stoned bees singing a Black Sabbath tune underwater. Hands down, this is perfect music for sitting back and tuning out the world for awhile.

Reviews: North "The Great Silence"

By: Garviel Loken

Once in a while a record comes along that utterly captivates the senses and draws listeners across the musical event horizon, crushing the current paradigm and ushering in a new standard. This rare feat has been accomplished by North on their stunning new record, "The Great Silence". Elementary and complex at the same time, this album is a true artistic statement that transcends any easy classification.

Reviews: Bloody Corpse Dismemberment "Gutfuck"

By: Garviel Loken

Dirty, nasty, and completely raw, Bloody Corpse Dismemberment certainly does not hold back the punches on their new record. If you have a pacemaker or other serious medical condition, you are advised to not listen to this music, it may translate you to the great beyond prematurely. That being said, the rest of you gather around the campfire so we can get down to hammering brass tacks into your faces.

Reviews: Anakim "Waking Giants"

By: Garviel Loken

Eighteen minutes may not seem like much when speaking in terms of music these days, considering that a lot of bands are writing single songs that are in the ten minute plus range, but Tucson's Anakim have forged an initial offering that makes every second count and more. The four tracks of "Waking Giants" showcase an impressive array of sounds that make it very difficult to place their music in any one area of the musical spectrum. In fact, after repeated listens, what they sound like is quite bewildering, albeit in a good way.

Reviews: Inoculara "Ouranophobia"

By: Garviel Loken

They say things lurk in the dank grottoes of the earth and hide behind curtains of mist deep within the forest, just out of sight and waiting to prey upon the unsuspecting. These tales seem to be more than mere legends after listening to the newest release by Tucson's Inoculara. The music presented here is utterly nasty, evil, and overflowing with spite.